What do Airway, Breathing, and Circulation have to do with writing
While in an author’s chat the other night and the theme was ABC’s of writing. What came to mind when with the letters of the alphabet. Right off the bat, I found my mind in a different thought pattern. A for others to the question, was art, author, ARC’s. My brain immediately went Airway, Breathing, Circulation. Old EMT’s don’t die; they just retire.
To me, the airway is the book, breathing the words and circulation the pacing. You need all three (and other things) to create a dynamic story. Let me break it down.
Airway =
This would be the basics. What is the manuscript about? Who are the characters? Where and when does the tale take place? It would be like a blurb. For instance, in Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar, I would say
A fantasy romance adventure, where amid treachery and chaos, love blooms. Can Abelard, a human and shifter, Felice, come to terms with their individual pasts in order to move forward together into their future.
Breathing =
To me, this would include style, grammar, punctuation. What is the author's voice? Is the book urban and gritty? I’ve read books whose prose is almost poetic in the use of language. What about dialect? Is it from the UK where the words don’t necessarily mean the same thing? Whose point of view is the story told in?
Circulation = Pacing
So, like a heartbeat, your novel needs pacing. It’s dangerous if your beat is to slow (bradycardia) or to fast (tachycardia). Also, an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) be a problem. The opening needs to strong, but so does the middle and end. If your story is too slow taking off, it will not keep the reader engaged. The same applies to long lags between action, emotion, intrigue. I would hate for someone to get tired of waiting for something—anything to happen. A good healthy heartbeat has rests in it as well. This is the time to get to know the characters and the world you’ve built. Try to balance the highs and lows and don’t forget the rests.
Recommended Movies
Patch Adams
Awakenings
And yes, they are both Robin Willams movies.
Published on July 10, 2019 11:16
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